Monday, Jan. 21 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
For some, the national holiday honoring the prominent civil rights activist is a time to give back and serve the community, be it through removing graffiti or picking up litter in a local park.
For others, it’s an opportunity to learn about King and his life's work. And for others, it’s a time to just kick back and enjoy the prolonged weekend.
So, tell us—What does Martin Luther King Jr. Day mean to you? What are you doing to commemorate King’s legacy?
The Holiday's History
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, now a U.S. holiday, took 15 years to create.
Legislation was first proposed by Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan) four days after King was assassinated in 1968.
The bill was stalled, but Conyers, along with Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-New York), pushed for the holiday every legislative session until it was finally passed in 1983, following civil rights marches in Washington.
Then-president Ronald Reagan signed it into law. Yet it was not until 2000 that every U.S. state celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by its name. Before then, states like Utah referred to the holiday more broadly as Human Rights Day.
Now, the Corporation for National and Community Service has declared it an official U.S. Day of Service.
I get the fact that you hate the President and those poor little kids that are collateral damage. But this is really starting to get quite old. I had a good friend, online, in the museum community, Dr. Ross Weeks, in Appalachia. He had set up the Carter/Ford debate when he was at William and Mary, and was friends with the Rockefellers and a number of the big names from the era. But, as a young man, he was also a cub reporter and traveled with Dr. King and the guys from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Ross told me that every time Dr. King got ready to do something, he was often seen in the corner, away from the rest, praying with all his might for strength regarding the situation. Martin was not a man without faults, but he was a man of courage who inspired the nation. To conscript this article to your diatribe seems petty and fails to honor the person behind this thread.
And, sir, I will respect your 2nd Amendment when you respect my 14th Amendment when it comes to the artificial device known as a debt ceiling, and my 1st Amendment Right to be allowed freedom of and from Religion. Let's also kick in the part that has to do with freedom of expression, just for giggles. As far as your radicalized NRA Propaganda Piece, save it. Not even interested. By the way, my ancestors were here before the Revolutionary War, fought in it and 1812 and were mustered by the Confederacy. So don't drop your 1776 rhetoric on me. I am quite simply unimpressed. We helped a young printer's apprentice, Ben Franklin get to England, and we were the Lt. Gov under a guy by the name of William Penn in a place called Pennsylvania. So save all your founding father's ballyhoo. We were! And how you managed to conscript your 2nd Amendment into my rebuttal of her drones tells me you're operating under your own Twilight Zone Agenda, too.